Turning That Inquiry into a Rental!

Admin
Published Date: 2011-06-03

Now that summer vacation season is upon us, you may get lots of people emailing and calling you to inquire about your furnished rental property. It’s more important than ever to effectively convert those leads into rental customers. Here are some tips to help convert a prospect into a customer: Respect Each Lead: You never know unless you try. Don’t let initial obstacles get in the way, such as a lower budget or pet limitations. You never know what a prospective customer will be willing to comprise on. Time is of the Essence: Be sure to call or email each inquiry back right away. Remember that they are sending out multiple inquiries. Customers appreciate a quick response time and you’ll be the early bird that catches the worm. Use the Phone: Whenever possible, get a potential lead on the phone. Email is nice and fast, but great tenant relationships are developed through personal connections. Referrals: Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals. This will help you maintain a relationship with your current client and build up future business. If your tenant is connected with a company, remember to have their housing coordinator register for free as a “CHBO Corporate User” and have them bookmark your property for future employees. Property Tour: A lot of corporate housing tenants will rent your property by viewing the property profile and will not need an actual tour. However, tenants looking for a longer lease term may want to walk the property prior to signing a lease. Take the time to clean and stage the rental before a tour. Turn the lights on, open windows and maybe even turn the radio on before they arrive for their tour. This extra effort takes just minutes, and may result in getting your property rented quickly. Paperwork: Before you list your property for rent you should have all your contracts, applications and checklists ready to go. CHBO offers a number of corporate housing document templates for free in the MyCHBO dashboard. Background Check: Background checks are recommended on any length of stay. Background checks can be run through numerous websites at a cost of $15-$50 per tenant.